formats

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

on
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Click on book to visit Amazon

A MATTER OF HIVE AND DEATH is the second book in the Oregon Honeycomb Mysteries by Nancy Coco. While it’s the first book I’ve read in the series (much to my chagrin) I easily picked up the necessary backstory and characters without feeling lost. I’ll be reading the first book right away to catch up with the charming protagonist, Wren Johnson, and her delightful Let It Bee shop set along the Oregon coast. Ms. Coco uses the educational backdrop of the plight of honey bees and what their destruction can do to our environment and food sources, for the murder mystery. I adored that Wren’s shop has a glass-walled working bee hive to educate visitors. I had the opportunity to see one on vacation long ago and was fascinated by the industrious bees. Wren is heartbroken when she arrives at a local farm to find the beekeeper murdered and several of his hives vandalized. The author’s descriptive voice brought the sound of the angry, swarming bees and the panic of those trying to rescue the downed man to life. Her attention to detail made me feel like I was right there throughout the story.

When another local beekeeper, and a friend of Wren’s, becomes the main suspect, she can’t help but try to find the culprits who have been destroying hives up and down the Oregon coast. Her investigation brings her into contact with quirky characters attending the annual UFO festival, to conspiracy theorists, and Bigfoot enthusiasts, providing a swarm of suspects. Ms. Coco also introduces the most unique of crimes, which is both eye-opening and thought-provoking for our modern times. It is obvious she’s done her research and she expertly weaves it into the tightly plotted mystery, right through to the edge-of-your-seat reveal.

In addition to a complex, well-written mystery, the author has created a cast of characters that will bring readers back for each new book. Wren is one of those people who I’d like to become friends with, and spend hours in her shop trying all of her products. Wren’s Havana brown cat, Everett, and her quirky Aunt Eloise, bring some lighthearted humor to the story as well as a sounding board for her investigation. Her good friend and employee, Porsche, is a great sidekick, and I admired the way she juggles being a mother to two young sons, working at Let It Bee, and helping in the investigation.

I was delighted to find that not only are there honey-based recipes sprinkled throughout the book, but there are also tips using honey for a variety of beauty and health conditions. I marked a few that I’ll be trying out. I was also drawn to her recipe for Honey Peanut Butter Cookies. Using half honey and half sugar for the sweetness, these tasty cookies are crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. In my family, it’s the perfect combination!

 

 

Amazon Synopsis

When a bee wrangler is bludgeoned, Let It Bee honey shop owner Wren Johnson makes it her beeswax to solve the crime . . .

For the picturesque town of Oceanview on the Oregon Coast, May brings blossoming fruit trees and the annual UFO festival. As Aunt Eloise tries out alien costumes on their Havana brown cat Everett, Wren is off to meet with a bee wrangler, her go-to guy for local fruit tree honey.

But when she arrives, Elias Brentwood is lying on the ground amidst destroyed hives and a swarm of angry bees. The bees didn’t kill him, a blow to the head did. As blue-eyed Officer Jim Hampton investigates and the town is invaded by its own swarm of conspiracy theorists and crackpots, Wren and Aunt Eloise decide the only way to catch the bee wrangler’s killer is to set up a sting.

 

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to Nancy Coco for providing a print copy of  A MATTER OF HIVE AND DEATH. Contest ends April 17, 2022 at 11:59 pm PST and is limited to U.S. residents only. Please use the Rafflecopter box located below to enter. The winner will be announced on this page and on Cinnamon & Sugar’s Facebook page, as well as notified by email (so check your spam folder!)

 

 

 

 

 

Print
Honey Peanut Butter Cookies

Makes 30 cookies

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup sugar for topping
Instructions

  1. For a soft cookie, preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

  2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter, honey, and sugar. Add the egg and vanilla, stirring until combined.

  3. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat until well-combined.

  4. Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on prepared cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between. Place a fork, tines flat, in the sugar and then make cross hatch marks on each cookie, dipping the fork in sugar before each cross so the dough doesn't stick to it.

  5. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes. Look for a golden-brown cookie that is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. Remove from the cookie sheet and let cool.

  6. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pin to Pinterest:

 

 

 

 

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

 

 

 

facebookShare on Facebook
TwitterTweet
FollowFollow us
PinterestSave

47 thoughts on “Honey Peanut Butter Cookies”

  1. I have experienced a bee hive in person. When I was just a kid, my cousin had bee hives that he tended. The honey was delicious!

  7. No had up close experience with a bee hive, but I’ve been close enough when a bee keeper was saving some from the wall of a house to take out to his hives.

    Love honey and recipes that use it. Thanks for another great recipe that I will definitely be trying.

    Can’t wait for the opportunity to read “MATTER OF HIVE AND DEATH”.

  8. I have seen a hive, but not too closely. Bees are fascinating! The most fascinating thing I have seen is the group of bees circling the Queen bee, in the air, without the actual hive around it. I believe it was a swarm.

  10. I’ve seen them from afar but never really up close. I find bees fascinating, though. And I LOVE honey and Peanut Butter, so thank you for the recipe!! The book sounds like a great read and has such a cute cover!

  12. I’ve been around bee hives (but not
    real close). Bees are an important
    part of our life and I want to respect
    them. thanks for the offer of the
    book. txmlhl(at)yahoo(dot)com

  14. I’ve been around bee hives in several places.
    “For a soft cookie, preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).” Is there an option for a cookie that isn’t soft?

  15. Yes, I have experienced a bee hive in person. In an exhibit, a bee hive was built into a display wall with a clear glass panel so you could see what was going on inside the hive. It was very interesting!

  16. Not in person. I have seen them in a backyard, but I didn’t go out to check it out. All I read about hives does make me appreciate bees more. Thanks for a chance to win!

  19. “Have you ever experienced a bee hive in person?” I don’t think so. We might have been shown a panel of one with some honeycomb to be stripped from it in a demonstration at school, but I don’t remember being around bees. I have, unfortunately, been stung a couple of times.. You put your hand on the monkey bars as a child, and then, ouch, you’re in pain because there was a bee sitting right where you put your hand!

  25. A friend/coworker had a whole swarm of bees living in the outside wall of her house. They had to have a beekeeper come remove them. He collected the honey combs and saved the honey (which was very tasty!)

  27. I live in a rural area and there are a lot of people that have lots of bee hives I am home bound and have seen them when we drive by them coming home from church but have to use a scooter when hubby takes me out and we can’t get that close. Although last year hubby went to a meeting about bee hive 101 and they had one box of them there and hubby was thinking about it but he wouldn’t have the time for it.

  29. Because I love to walk and hike, I have seen massive bed gives hanging from trees and buildings, but I have had no other experience with bee hives. I would rather read about them in a book!

  37. My brother has a couple of hives, I also was in a store that had a hive in the wall and they put in a glass panel so you could watch them inside of the hive. Thank you for the recipe and congrats on your release.

  38. I’ve never been close to a beehive. I’m allergic, so bees scare me a little. I’m also not a huge fan of honey….although the honey peanut butter cookies recipe sounds interesting.
    Congrats on the newest release. Thanks for the chance to win.

  40. Yes, my husband and I used to keep bees. That stopped when we lost our hives due to a freak late spring cold snap and they died.
    I loved having the hive in our backyard, the bees were very gentle and friendly. Thank you for the chance to win.
    madamhawk at gmail dot com

  41. I saw a bee hive in a tree in our back yard and I ran and called someone to have it taken Cate of, I’m not a fan of bees. Thanks for your generosity.

  42. We had a beehive formed under our porch roof. It formed under the siding and the honey would drip out of it. A harvester came and cleaned out the bees and the hive. It was amazing to watch. Thanks for the opportunity to enter your contest.

  43. My parents had bee hives when I was a child. My dad always kept me pretty far away from them because he didn’t want me to get stung.

  44. I have never been up close and personal with a bee hive, but I think it would be really interesting!

  46. Not a big one, just a very small one. We do have lots of beekeepers in this area though.

  47. Years ago we sold our house and moved into my husband’s grandmother’s house that was over a hundred years old and inside her chimney was the biggest beehive anyone had ever seen!! We had to call in a specialist from a few hours away that would agree to take care of it. They had never seen anything like it before! I could smell something funny and we had quite a few bees which I thought was unusual 😳🙃☺️

Comments are closed.

Facebook
YouTube
YouTube
Pinterest
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
Instagram